Patti Rose, age 13, of Garden Grove, California, for her question:

What is the tomato worm?

It is natural for us to have our likes and dislikes but sometimes, old Andy has to remind himself that all nature's children have a right to live on the earth. It is easy to like plants and animals that happen to be useful or friendly to us. But a few of them seem to be nothing but pests, like the tomato worm. Andy detested this greedy fellow in every way until he remembered that, nature has made most of her children beautiful, or at least interesting. The mother of the greedy tomato worm happens to be a big, velvety winged beauty called a sphinx moth. Her slender, furry grey wings spread almost four inches wide. She wears a white belt and a double row of yellow buttons down her tail section.

The handsome mother lays her eggs on or near a tomato vine. When they hatch, the greedy grubs are near a plentiful supply of their favorite food. The wretched caterpillars are bright green to match the leaves, stems and young fruit on the tomato vine. You may not notice one until he has gorged himself fat and almost two inches long. When challenged, he rears up and the hooked spur on his tail looks far from peaceful. At last he drops to the ground and changes into a neatly folded crystals of shiny purple. But during his wormy caterpillar days he may have destroyed a complete tomato plant by weakening the leaves and stems and even the growing fruit.